Saturday, June 18, 2011

Thanks. Everybody else that I talk to seems to make a big deal about the commute downtown. Actually It is my wife who will be facing the commute. I get to work from home mostly when I am not travelling. How's allentown treating you?

wht field u and ur wife work on?? commute is really bad, wherever u go..weather is good, if you like hot, humid just like india. public transport is not that effective when u compare to other bigger cities..not a good place if u r in software programming..

No problems so far, the immigration agent told the American citizen and his 22-year-old Colombian wife at her green card interview in December. After he stapled one of their wedding photos to her application for legal permanent residency, he had just one more question: What was her cellphone number? Skip to next paragraph Enlarge This Image Uli Seit for The New York Times

Isaac R. Baichu, 46, an adjudicator for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, was arrested after he met with a green card applicant at the Flagship Restaurant, a diner in Queens. He is charged with coercing oral sex from her. Audio A Secret Recording Enlarge This Image Uli Seit for The New York Times

The Flagship Restaurant, where Mr. Baichu met with a green card applicant.

The calls from the agent started three days later. He hinted, she said, at his power to derail her life and deport her relatives, alluding to a brush she had with the law before her marriage. He summoned her to a private meeting. And at noon on Dec. 21, in a parked car on Queens Boulevard, he named his price � not realizing that she was recording everything on the cellphone in her purse.

�I want sex,� he said on the recording. �One or two times. That�s all. You get your green card. You won�t have to see me anymore.�

She reluctantly agreed to a future meeting. But when she tried to leave his car, he demanded oral sex �now,� to �know that you�re serious.� And despite her protests, she said, he got his way.

The 16-minute recording, which the woman first took to The New York Times and then to the Queens district attorney, suggests the vast power of low-level immigration law enforcers, and a growing desperation on the part of immigrants seeking legal status. The aftermath, which included the arrest of an immigration agent last week, underscores the difficulty and danger of making a complaint, even in the rare case when abuse of power may have been caught on tape.

No one knows how widespread sexual blackmail is, but the case echoes other instances of sexual coercion that have surfaced in recent years, including agents criminally charged in Atlanta, Miami and Santa Ana, Calif. And it raises broader questions about the system�s vulnerability to corruption at a time when millions of noncitizens live in a kind of legal no-man�s land, increasingly fearful of seeking the law�s protection.

The agent arrested last week, Isaac R. Baichu, 46, himself an immigrant from Guyana, handled some 8,000 green card applications during his three years as an adjudicator in the Garden City, N.Y., office of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the federal Department of Homeland Security. He pleaded not guilty to felony and misdemeanor charges of coercing the young woman to perform oral sex, and of promising to help her secure immigration papers in exchange for further sexual favors. If convicted, he will face up to seven years in prison.

His agency has suspended him with pay, and the inspector general of Homeland Security is reviewing his other cases, a spokesman said Wednesday. Prosecutors, who say they recorded a meeting between Mr. Baichu and the woman on March 11 at which he made similar demands for sex, urge any other victims to come forward.

Money, not sex, is the more common currency of corruption in immigration, but according to Congressional testimony in 2006 by Michael Maxwell, former director of the agency�s internal investigations, more than 3,000 backlogged complaints of employee misconduct had gone uninvestigated for lack of staff, including 528 involving criminal allegations.

The agency says it has tripled its investigative staff since then, and counts only 165 serious complaints pending. But it stopped posting an e-mail address and phone number for such complaints last year, said Jan Lane, chief of security and integrity, because it lacks the staff to cull the thousands of mostly irrelevant messages that resulted. Immigrants, she advised, should report wrongdoing to any law enforcement agency they trust.

The young woman in Queens, whose name is being withheld because the authorities consider her the victim of a sex crime, did not even tell her husband what had happened. Two weeks after the meeting in the car, finding no way to make a confidential complaint to the immigration agency and afraid to go to the police, she and two older female relatives took the recording to The Times.

Reasons to Worry

A slim, shy woman who looks like a teenager, she said she had spent recent months baby-sitting for relatives in Queens, crying over the deaths of her two brothers back in Cali, Colombia, and longing for the right stamp in her passport � one that would let her return to the United States if she visited her family.

She came to the United States on a tourist visa in 2004 and overstayed. When she married an American citizen a year ago, the law allowed her to apply to �adjust� her illegal status. But unless her green card application was approved, she could not visit her parents or her brothers� graves and then legally re-enter the United States. And if her application was denied, she would face deportation.

She had another reason to be fearful, and not only for herself. About 15 months ago, she said, an acquaintance hired her and two female relatives in New York to carry $12,000 in cash to the bank. The three women, all living in the country illegally, were arrested on the street by customs officers apparently acting on a tip in a money-laundering investigation. After determining that the women had no useful information, the officers released them.

But the closed investigation file had showed up in the computer when she applied for a green card, Mr. Baichu told her in December; until he obtained the file and dealt with it, her application would not be approved. If she defied him, she feared, he could summon immigration enforcement agents to take her relatives to detention.

So instead of calling the police, she turned on the video recorder in her cellphone, put the phone in her purse and walked to meet the agent. Two family members said they watched anxiously from their parked car as she disappeared behind the tinted windows of his red Lexus.

�We were worried that the guy would take off, take her away and do something to her,� the woman�s widowed sister-in-law said in Spanish.

As the recorder captured the agent�s words and a lilting Guyanese accent, he laid out his terms in an easy, almost paternal style. He would not ask too much, he said: sex �once or twice,� visits to his home in the Bronx, perhaps a link to other Colombians who needed his help with their immigration problems.

In shaky English, the woman expressed reluctance, and questioned how she could be sure he would keep his word.

�If I do it, it�s like very hard for me, because I have my husband, and I really fall in love with him,� she said.

The agent insisted that she had to trust him. �I wouldn�t ask you to do something for me if I can�t do something for you, right?� he said, and reasoned, �Nobody going to help you for nothing,� noting that she had no money.

He described himself as the single father of a 10-year-old daughter, telling her, �I need love, too,� and predicting, �You will get to like me because I�m a nice guy.�

Repeatedly, she responded �O.K.,� without conviction. At one point he thanked her for showing up, saying, �I know you feel very scared.�

Finally, she tried to leave. �Let me go because I tell my husband I come home,� she said.

His reply, the recording shows, was a blunt demand for oral sex.

�Right now? No!� she protested. �No, no, right now I can�t.�

He insisted, cajoled, even empathized. �I came from a different country, too,� he said. �I got my green card just like you.�

Then, she said, he grabbed her. During the speechless minute that follows on the recording, she said she yielded to his demand out of fear that he would use his authority against her.

How Much Corruption?

The charges against Mr. Baichu, who became a United States citizen in 1991 and earns roughly $50,000 a year, appear to be part of a larger pattern, according to government records and interviews.

Mr. Maxwell, the immigration agency�s former chief investigator, told Congress in 2006 that internal corruption was �rampant,� and that employees faced constant temptations to commit crime.

�It is only a small step from granting a discretionary waiver of an eligibility rule to asking for a favor or taking a bribe in exchange for granting that waiver,� he contended. �Once an employee learns he can get away with low-level corruption and still advance up the ranks, he or she becomes more brazen.�

�Despite our best efforts there are always people ready to use their position for personal gain or personal pleasure,� said Chris Bentley, a spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Services. �Our responsibility is to ferret them out.�

When the Queens woman came to The Times with her recording on Jan. 3, she was afraid of retaliation from the agent, and uncertain about making a criminal complaint, though she had an appointment the next day at the Queens district attorney�s office.

Mr. Baichu was arrested as he emerged from the diner and headed to his car, wearing much gold and diamond jewelry, prosecutors said. Later released on $15,000 bail, Mr. Baichu referred calls for comment to his lawyer, Sally Attia, who said he did not have authority to grant or deny green card petitions without his supervisor�s approval.

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USCISSucks

11-14 01:34 AM

Before 180 Days for those 140 approved Do a H1 transfer and extension to new company which you like.. (don't use EAD with the new company) Stay with the present company for some secondary part time job just not to get him mad (or take a vacation) 2 months would fly when you are making now decent money...

do whatever after 180 days.

I spoke with my Lawyer on this approach and says he doesn;t see any issue with this since I140 approved..

otehrs who have answered favourably please let us know if anybody did this?

We all know that we are able to file 485 on July and we got EAD due to IV efforts. Which in turn helping us to get a 600$ rebate for the spouse (Some plan to spend the money).. Can we make a pledge here that we will contribute a certain % to our organization? The % can be your choice. At least this % can help this site up and running� If the moderator decide that this is not a good idea please close this thread.

Talking abt running this site. I think IV should enforce a mandatory $15 per year for access to this site. In interest of full disclosure - I have been a free loader myself for a very long time but have realized its pointless if you are not helping the cause. The people who are visiting this site have one thing in common - They have a BIG problem and if they cannot make a SMALL contribution towards solving that problem this community has no use for them.

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eb3_nepa

12-09 05:08 PM

I agree on this "full disclosure". If I have to leave a comment or a red/green dot, the person writing the comment HAS to be forced to reveal their ID.

I am not against donating (have done it myself) but do you guys really think they are giving out GCs to the donors?

Or is someone giving out the secret to a quicker GC in the donor forum?

Or is there the address of the shop selling GCs?

Whatever appears in RED color - supposedly for donors - to me seems to be a marketing trick to attract more donation (sadly, they had to resort to this) - but remember that if there is a big news that is relevant to us - it will be flashed everywhere, even in Indian newspapers!

Don't go begging access to the donor forum or start salivating at the thought of accessing it... just seems kinda childish to me.

Don't gimme reds for this, it was only worth 0.02 - not enough for donation!

Chill, Peace!

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nk2

08-04 12:58 PM

EB3 I - I140 pending , applied on 8/9/2007...sorry for the typo from the subject

jay75, if you want to can change it, go to edit post, advanced and change the subject

My spouse EAD and AP were approved on Sept 13th , Mine is still pending......Don't know what to do .....I am the primary applicant....

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alisa

08-03 10:45 AM

I am starting this thread for people who are still waiting for their I-140 approvals.

There is a thread about the delay in I-140 approvals at TSC. However, from what I can tell by looking at data, NSC is worse than TSC.

The processing dates suggest that NSC is looking at March 2007 I-140 applications. But thats what they have been saying for the last three months. In December 07, the processing dates for NSC EB3 were at January 2007. In July 2008, the processing dates (NSC, EB3) are at March 2007.

We are witnessing the birth of another 'backlog elimination center.' This must be pointed out, so that there is a chance that this could be stopped.

when a person is on H1B and out of project and no paystubs, Will there be any issue with 485 processing.

Any H employer is supposed to pay the minimum wage to the employee , so paystub seems natural in this process. But if you are genuine and just missed the paystubs for some reason you can send some alternatives :

a) Timesheet signed. b) benefits confirmation , c) email correspondence to indirectly prove that you were working in H1 status and getting paid

yeah, and i have lots of trouble on getting new clients, because im a 16 years old high school student, and because of that, people think that is too much money for someone of my age, and others think that a person of my age cant do a professional job, that's the main problem i have :( and i dont know how to go and offer my services,i dont know even what to say ( maybe what reverendflash said with the sign hehe,:smirk: ) also if you could give me some advices, on how to offer webdesign, i'd be greatfull ;)

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drona

09-10 02:19 PM

We've had 19 members join WA State Chapter in the past two days, let's keep it going. Please get active in your state chapter and help IV succeed.

OR do some pro-bono sites for people who will reach a lot of people (and help out some needful people at the same time)...

such as churchs, community groups, that kind of thing... then place a subtle ad on each of these sites, and then of course on your portfolio...

They never need know how old you are...

I certainly don't tell them I'm 40... :P

Rev:elderly:

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09-14 11:39 AM

Bump

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gcseeker2002

10-26 01:00 PM

My wife had her visa stamped in Bombay consulate - and during the interview they asked to see the I797 - but i had instructed her to ask for it back and she specifically asked the officer if she could have it back because I needed it - and he promptly gave it. maybe Delhi Consulate works differently. Hopefully they will mail you back the 797 notice with the passport. My wife went for stamping in 08/2003 and I just gave her the copy of the I797 approval notice, so I didnt have to worry about getting back the original. I think they gave back the copy too, so why are you sending original 797 for H4 stamping, it is not a required document I think.

go_guy123

01-26 01:38 PM

This is an important step zero. I am sure Reid will push this through in the Senate.

But in this congress it's all about what the House does.. Need to see the House version of this bill..

CIR (aka mass amnesty) was not doable in the past, and is not now and wont be in future. They could not do it even when democratic party was in power in congress (high tide of democratic party). It is impossible now with GOP in control.